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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bark — to shout
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — help
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. spring — the season
  8. content — happy
  9. spring — of water
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. spell — letters
  12. face — part of the head
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spell — magic
  23. face — to confront
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com